This document summarizes the key topics discussed in a school reform project analyzing critical issues in education, including the achievement gap, accountability, standardized testing, and the No Child Left Behind Act. It discusses the pros and cons of these topics from the perspectives of teachers, students, and society. It also provides an individual teacher's perspective on the impacts and their plan for enacting positive changes in their school.

1. School Reform Project Critical Analysis of Schools and Educational Practice ESED 9132 Spring 2010 Cathy Griffin

2. Three Major Issues Closing the Achievement Gap & No Child Left Behind Act Accountability Standardized Testing

3. Where’s the Gap? Between white and minority children.

4. NCLB Truths and Consequences

6. High-stakes standardized testing has been implemented to monitor student achievement

7. Free tutoring must be offered by schools that do not meet NCLB standards.

8. Federal funding will be provided to support research-based teaching strategies

9. More choices for parents will be offered for students who attend schools that do not meet NCLB standards(No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, 2001)

11. Decreases in achievement gap

12. Increases in highly qualified teachers

13. Additional testing has helped to identify low-performing students

14. Increases in the number of schools attaining AYP status.(Ramsay, 2008), (No Child Left Behind's 5th Anniversary, 2007), (Jehlen, 2007)

16. Multiple choice testing is the only measure of student performance

17. Since math and reading are the target areas, other subject areas are being neglected

18. Teachers are being forced to tech to the test

19. Educators are punished for working in high-risk schools

20. All students regardless of their native language or ability level are held to the same standards(Ramsay, 2008), (No Child Left Behind's 5th Anniversary, 2007), (Jehlen, 2007)

22. Smaller class sizes

23. Support programs that encourage parental and community involvement

24. Acknowledge educators who show significant gains in student achievement(Ramsay, 2008), (No Child Left Behind's 5th Anniversary, 2007), (Jehlen, 2007)

25. Who Should Be Held Accountable? According to NCLB, schools are held accountable for making adequate yearly progress (AYP) based on guidelines created, and implemented by each individual state (Carey, 2007).

27. School systems are being forced to take a closer look at their low-performing students and design new programs to assist with closing the achievement gap

28. School systems are required to publish their accountability reports which keeps the community informed(Carey, 2007)

30. Goals for student achievement are unrealistic given such a short time span

31. Schools showing huge gains may still be labeled as not making AYP

32. A small subgroup of students could possibly cause an entire school to not make AYP(Carey, 2007)

34. Standardize minimum requirements for state standards

35. Create attainable goals

36. Create accountability measures that include achievement gains.(Carey, 2007)

37. Standardized Testing as the ONLY Determining Factor in Student Achievement. Definition: “Standardized Test – a form of measure that has been normed against a specific population” (A Glossary of Measurement Terms, ERIC Digest, 1989)

39. Comparisons can be made across groups to help track student performance

40. Can help analyze the effectiveness of new programs(Neill & Peterson, 1999)

42. “…parents are often the first to understand that the complexity of their child cannot be captured by a test score”(Neill & Peterson, 1999).

44. Student performance portfolios collecting work samples and data throughout the year will give a much clearer picture of overall student achievement

45. Performance task based assessments where students are able to “show what they know”(Neill & Peterson, 1999)

46. Closing the Achievement Gap, Accountability and Standardized Testing What is the Impact on our Teaching Professionals?

48. Teachers are learning to use student dada to drive their instruction, rather than the chapter number in a textbook

49. Teachers are receiving more high-quality professional development to help enhance instruction and student engagement

50. High standards are set for teacher qualifications

51. School report cards keep the community informed of what is taking place in their local schools (White, 2010).

53. Proper funding has not been made available to comply with all of the NCLB requirements

54. High standards set for teacher qualifications are causing a shortage of teachers in lower income schools

56. Subjects other than math and reading are taking a back seat

59. Students who attend a school that is not making AYP has the option to transfer to another school

60. Students who attend a school that is not making AYP are given tutoring opportunities (Staff, 2008)

62. Our special education students are often being held to standards that are not attainable based on their particular disability; this can be devastating for the child

63. Our limited English proficiency students are required to take the standardized test in a language that they have yet to master which results in merely a test of their English language skills rather than their achievement within the content areas

64. Students no longer see the relevance in what they are learning other than to pass a test(Harper, 2005)

65. What is the Impact on Society?

67. More attention is being paid to exactly what is taught in our public schools

68. Greater emphasis is being paid to low-performing schools

69. Teacher qualifications are being raised in the hopes of acquiring a quality teaching force in each school

70. Test scores in math and reading have improved(Jennings & Rentner, 2006)

72. Testing of our special education and limited English proficiency student populations have come under much scrutiny

73. Lack of Federal funding to promote many of the required school programs is creating a burden on local schools, PTA’s, parents and teachers(Jennings & Rentner, 2006)

74. One Middle School Math Teacher’s Perspective on NCLB, Standardized Testing and Accountability as it Relates to My Teaching, My Students, My School and the Community.

76. Learning how to use data to drive my instruction has benefitted my teaching and subsequently my student’s learning

77. Since the implementation of NCLB legislation and becoming a Title I school, we have put into action many new programs to help our struggling students and get parents and community members involved

79. There is no time in the curriculum calendar for students to explore math conceptually

80. Students no loner find value in what they learn other than attaining a good test score

82. My special education students are left feeling like failures when they often don’t pass the state test; even though they may have shown tremendous growth

83. There is no room in the curriculum calendar for “teachable moments”

84. The community looks unfavorably on our school due to its low SES and the fact that we are a Title I school

87. Introduce a curriculum that has a much narrower focus allowing for delving deeper into each standard.

88. Create strong relationships with parents and community members; get them involved

89. Allow for some “breathing room” when it comes to the requirements and standards for each content area. Permitting more “teachable moments” to be discovered and explored

90. Leave room for more creativity and critical thinking in the classroom

91. Consent to offer students more opportunities to study humanities and the arts.

93. Continue to share with and encourage my colleagues to use best practices in their classrooms

94. Create more opportunities for parents to get involved in the school and their child’s education

95. Stay abreast of and give input into curriculum decisions being made within our county

96. Continue to advocate for smaller class sizes

97. Continue to research strategies and implement activities that foster creativity and critical thinking while still teaching the required standards

99. The biggest impact on student achievement could be made if we could overcome this one obstacle

101. Community support - I am in regular contact with many community leaders already through initiatives put in place for Title I

102. Teacher buy-in - I am in a position to assist and inspire teachers through my position as a math coach

104. Click Once and then Be Patient!  "Every hour spent on such exam preparation is an hour not spent helping students to become critical, creative, curious learners." Alfie Kohn "Would a child who spent every day doing basketball drills without ever having the joy of playing a game of basketball enjoy basketball enough to become good at it?" Lalia Kerr "If more testing were the answer to the problems in our schools, testing would have solved them a long time ago." Bill Goodling, chair of House Education Committee "'Teaching to the test' [is] a practice likened to memorizing an eye chart. With enough drill and rote work, even a person with 20/150 vision can rattle off 'E-F-P-T-O-Z'. Of course this doesn't mean that person can truly see." Meredith Scrivner "In America, no child should be left behind. Every child should be educated to his or her own full potential." President George W. Bush "If I were to compare the agendas of teachers and the agendas of test publishers, the bottom line for teachers is always kids. For test publishers it's money. For politicians, it is votes. Who do you want to trust your child's learning to? George Bush, Prentice Hall, STAR test, or a teacher with a strong sense of commitment to the welfare of children?" Nancy Haas "I'm thinking about letting us have a scream day sometime in March, when we just go outside and scream," anonymous Louisiana teacher "Education ceases to be learning when the 3 R's are read, remember, and regurgitate." "Boston Public" character of student protester "Education is not a preparation for life...education is life itself". John Dewey "Anyone can confirm how little the grading that results from examinations corresponds to the final useful work of people in life." Jean Piaget "Believing we can improve schooling with more tests is like believing you can make yourself grow taller by measuring your height." Robert Schaeffer of FairTest "What we want is to see the child in pursuit of knowledge and not knowledge in pursuit of the child." George Bernard Shaw "Not everything that counts can be counted and not everything that can be counted counts." Albert Einstein

105. Works Cited A Glossary of Measurement Terms. ERIC Digest. (1989). Retrieved April 6, 2010, from Ericae.net Clearinghouse on Assessment and Evaluation: http://ericae.net/edo/ed315430.htm Carey, K. (2007, November 13). The Pangloss Index: How States Game the No Child Left Behind Ac. Retrieved April 6, 2010, from Education Sector: http://www.educationsector.org/research/research_show.htm?doc_id=582446 Harper, L. (2005, August 21). No Child Left Behind's Impact on Specialized Education. Retrieved April 6, 2010, f rom PBS News Hour: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/indepth_coverage/education/no_child/impact.html Jehlen, A. (2007, February). NCLB: The Sequel. Retrieved April 6, 2010, from National Education Association: http://www.nea.org/home/11528.htm Jennings, J., & Rentner, D. S. (2006, November). Ten Big Affects of the No Child Left Behind Act on Public Schools. Retrieved April 6, 2010, from Center on Education Policy: http://www.education.uiowa.edu/cea/documents/NCLB-TenBigEffects.pdf Linn, R. L. (2005, Summer). Fixing the NCLB Accountability System. Retrieved April 6, 2010, from CRESST National Center for Research: http://www.cse.ucla.edu/products/policy/cresst_policy8.pdf Neill, M., & Peterson, B. (1999, Spring). Alternatives to Standardized Tests. Retrieved April 6, 2010, from Rethinking Schools Online: http://www.rethinkingschools.org/archive/13_03/assess.shtml No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. (2001). Retrieved April 6, 2010, from http://ed.gov/nclb/overview/intro/4pillars.html No Child Left Behind's 5th Anniversary. (2007, January). Retrieved April 6, 2010, from US Department of Education: http://www2.ed.gov/nclb/overview/importance/nclb5anniversary.html Ramsay, J. (2008). The Controversy: Has NCLB Been Successful or Has It Failed? Retrieved April 6, 2010, from Care To Vote 08': Getting Smart About Getting Smart: http://www.carleton.edu/departments/educ/Vote/pages/Pros_and-Cons.html Staff, G. S. (2008). What the No Child Left Behind Law Means for Your Child. Retrieved April 9, 2010, from Great Schools: http://www.greatschools.org/improvement/quality-teaching/no-child-left- behind.gs?content=61&page=1 Test Quotes. (2010). Retrieved April 10, 2010, from Students Against Testing: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.whatkidscando.org/archives/images/featurestories/directorytop.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.whatkidscando.org/archives/featurestori es/yodirectory.html&usg=__mfhfZ4C8MEMTy3sRYy_RNackRLk=&h=350&w=475&sz=64&hl=en White, D. (2010). Pros and Cons of No Child Left Behind Act. Retrieved April 6, 2010, from About.com US Liberal Politics: http://usliberals.about.com/od/education/i/NCLBProsCons_2.htm